also....I would like to say I'm a hypocryite...cause I said to leave people comments when you link to them....and I sure didn't. I pushed post and then started cleaning (okay...you got me...I'm actually repainting my side tables) and forget to let everyone know!!!! let's play a game called don't judge agaagg. great.
next:
I got an email from
Amy at Ameroonie Designs ,
I just have to put this out there for discussion, because it really bothers me and I think a lot of bloggers don't really understand their rights to the tutorials they publish. You can't really copyright or put terms of use on a tutorial/pattern. You can copyright your post {i.e. someone can't copy your text and claim it as their own} but you can't really say "you can only make this for gifts, but not to sell". It's like saying "you can listen to this music, but you can't sing it out loud in public, but in your shower it's okay." There's a great website http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/trademarks.shtml
where they talk about copyright and patterns and things. I just think people should know their rights before they post things. If you want to make the stuff to sell, and don't want others to make the same thing, don't publish the tutorial.
I'm really not trying to be confrontational- just trying to get the word out so that people don't end up with unforseen consequences. :) If anyone has any legal proof that things are otherwise, I'd love to hear it.
xoxo,
Amy
and no...this is not going to be another "anonymous post" I thank her for letting us know!!!! THANKS AMY! I mean really....you can think you have the greatest idea ever...and then see it somewhere else! It's impossible to prove where an idea generates....
that is why I stick with my previous sentence....if you don't feel guilty..than do it!!!! I think it's a moral thing...! You won't get the copyright police after you.....so you can just choose!!!!
and because what's a post without a picture?
Great post! I love that you bring up the guilt factor. That is a fantastic rule of thumb.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding, Kimbo! You are amazing! Hopefully this just lets people know what their rights really are so if they want to keep something their own niche- they will know not to post it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do think the guilt factor is key- if it doesn't feel right, don't do it! :)
xoxo,
Amy
I sometimes don't send someone a link of a project I did from their tutorial because I have no idea where they want it.
ReplyDeleteSome want pics on Flicker--I've no idea how to do that. If it's two years after I first saw the idea, I don't know if I should try to find the original post and comment there or comment in a newer post. It always seems so out of place when I see comments that have nothing to do with the actual post.
I've also heard that one should not put their links in a comment, so I don't want to mess up there.
Thanks for all the great advice and how-to info, though. Knowing these things is making me feel much more comfortable in blogland.
thank you, amy - i've often wondered about this and now i know a bit more. :) i also whole-heartedly agree with staying true to our moral compass - great advice.
ReplyDeletebess :)
thank you for this series of posts...such good info! it is hard because I see ideas that look like my ideas tweaked, but I read a magazine and tweak their ideas, I make a recipe and blog it...Amy's input was really helpful. But I agree with the guilt factor - and as an etsy shop owner, I would never, ever, copy something that someone posts and then says "buy now from my shop" xo Bev
ReplyDeleteWow, this is a lot to digest! I didn't realize how complicated all this is! I am a little nervous to post anything I made because most of my stuff is generated by an idea I saw somewhere else...and most of the time I don't remember where! So, I hope I don't offend anyone! I don't want the copyright police after me!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thanks for posting Amy's email about posting tutorials. That is something to consider when posting a tutorial. I do feel we should give credit to the person who had the original idea and posting of a craft project. I have seen lots of sharing of bloggers tutorial posts by other bloggers and they have noted the original blogger. Many crafters sell on eBay and Etsy and say they have a copyright for their patterns. It sounds like if we don't want anyone else making our item we shouldn't share the pattern or directions of how to make it. I do however think it is in bad taste to profit off anothers ideas misleading the public that it is our own. I'm sorry you have been violated this way. Best Wishes for good resolution to the problem.
ReplyDelete